# To the GOP: why are some still licking the boots of Rush Limbaugh? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 30, 2009, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688 "2009-01-30T05:21:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/1 "2009-01-30T05:21:16Z")
First, leaders of the GOP, I’m a Hispanic and many in my group were considering voting Republican until guys like Tancredo appeared as the face of the GOP. There was even a time when I considered voting for McCain in 2000, (the 2004 version lost me when he embraced the religious right and Palin) I was expecting to see the Republicans to finally see the light and that opposition to Obama would not depend on the dictates of a shrinking reactionary base, I was thinking the Republicans finally got it when they began to dismiss people like Rush Limbaugh. Well, so much for that. > **[washington independent game](http://washingtonindependent.com/)** > > home made city upgrade game about boarding houses, telegraph offices, casinos, federal offices, printing presses, docks, land, carriage works, munitions, hotels. > [@](#): > > Rep. Phil Gingrey’s (R-Ga.) climbdown from his critical comments about Rush Limbaugh has been reported elsewhere, but we only now see the transcript of Gingrey’s even more humiliating, pleading, fat-kid-in-gym-class call to Limbaugh’s show. > > “I clearly ended up putting my foot in my mouth on some of those comments (laughs) and I just wanted to tell you, Rush, and — and all our conservative giants who help us so much to maintain our base and grow it and get back this majority that I regret those stupid comments. […] > > Rush, congressional Republicans and our leadership need you and other conservative giants to galvanize the millions of Americans who don’t live in Washington. They may not even live in Republican districts. Maybe they’re in Democratic districts. But we’ve gotta have your support, and of course I know you reach millions of people across the country. I’m telling you, I heard from quite a few of them (laughs) since my foot-and-mouth disease yesterday, and I just thank you so much for what you’re doing, and we’re with you 100 percent — and we know that you’re with us a hundred percent, more importantly.” [http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/bipartisanship/gop-congressman-apologizes-for-offending-limbaugh-fans/](http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/bipartisanship/gop-congressman-apologizes-for-offending-limbaugh-fans/) > [@](#): > > Turns out that Gingrey’s measured remarks provoked such a violent outcry that he has now been forced to apologize. > > “Because of the high volume of phone calls and correspondence received by my office since the Politico article ran, I wanted to take a moment to speak directly to grassroots conservatives,” Gingrey said in a new statement released by his office. “Let me assure you, I am one of you.” > > “I never told Rush to back off,” Gingrey continued. “I regret and apologize for the fact that my comments have offended and upset my fellow conservatives—that was not my intent…Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Newt Gingrich, and other conservative giants are the voices of the conservative movement’s conscience.” > > This is pretty instructive about the political plight the GOP finds itself in. Republican leaders are working to portray Congressional Democrats as the partisan ones amid the wrangling over the stimulus bill and other matters. But the GOP’s shrunken minority is ensuring that the angrier and most aggressively partisan voices of the right become dominant and even representative of the party — especially given its leadership vacuum right now. > > … Rush Limbaugh in the end is really just an entertainer, I still remember many saying (even here on the Dope) that Republicans remain a strong force. What kind of force is there if you can not ignore people who are an embarrassment even to moderate Republicans? Well, the spectacle of a Republican representative licking the boots of Rush may fill Rush with pride, but I only see the most pathetic broadcast of lameness in history, why it is that you can not tell guys like Rush to shovel it and ignore their expected lame attacks? Yeah, you can say you do it because you fear your base; well, I got news for you, the demographics show that your base will shrink and not be enough to help you win elections in the near future. Appeasing guys like Limbaugh, that have really no good reason to intervene in your decisions, looks not only petty but brain dead. And it does show how pathetic many Republicans are for all to see. However, to be fair, there is hope: > [@](#): > > Update: In an interview with Sam Stein, key GOP leader Mike Pence distances himself from Limbaugh’s stated claim that he wants to see President Obama fail. We’ll see.. If the GOP leadership never offers any apologies to Mr Oxicotin Rush then I will think the Republicans will have a chance to come out of the wilderness. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/2 "2009-01-30T05:29:51Z")
Party before country; so what else is new? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/3 "2009-01-30T05:53:47Z")
_Rush is **never** wrong!_ He’s even said so on his program before. 😃 The simple fact of the matter is that those still clinging to Rush _deny that there is **anything** wrong with their point of view._ They do **not** recognize _any_ objective evidence that Rush is talking out of his ass. Period. Paragraph. They think that _any_ indication that there might be something wrong with what Rush says is the result of the liberal cabal which controls the media. You’ve been here long enough to know that Rush’s listners (and those who claim **not** to listen to him, but still somehow manage to parrot almost exactly what Rush has said recently) do **not** believe in anything which comes from news sources which do not 100% agree with them, 100% of the time. To them, they don’t see the election of Obama as being an indication that the population has turned towards a different direction, rather they see it as America is the victim of a great fraud. Their belief is that if the media had **not** done such a hatchet job on McCain/Palin, Obama would have lost handily. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/4 "2009-01-30T06:22:49Z")
As a Democrat, I find this very encouraging. Instead of trying to figure out what went wrong, the Republicans are going to keep trying the same thing that didn’t work before. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/5 "2009-01-30T06:31:06Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Rush Limbaugh in the end is really just an entertainer Yeah…kind of like Al Franken. I swear, I was so close to considering thinking about maybe someday voting Democratic until YOU GUYS decided to not only listen to such an angry, partisan comedian but actually try to put him in a position of power. As I commented on this board shortly after the election, I expected that after Obama came into power Rush would rise to new prominence. People who don’t like the direction the country is going in now are angry, of course, just like some of the liberals went insane with rage during the “Bushitler” (as some of the crazier ones termed it) years. It is fun to be able to vent your anger by hearing someone unapologetically poke fun at people you don’t like. It doesn’t really have much to do with the integrity of either party or reflect the likely outcome of future elections. What ends up happening with the economy now that the Democrats are the ones who can solely take the credit or blame will determine the next election ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/6 "2009-01-30T06:34:13Z")
Let them sail into oblivion if that’s what they end up doing to themselves. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/7 "2009-01-30T07:13:02Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > Yeah…kind of like Al Franken. Wrong, He is not just an entertainer. Al Franken will be Senator of Minnesota, Coleman lost but he is pretending it is not. He will go down convincing people like you that supporters of the Iraq war were fine and dandy. > [@](#): > > I swear, I was so close to considering thinking about maybe someday voting Democratic until YOU GUYS decided to not only listen to such an angry, partisan comedian but actually try to put him in a position of power. As he is in Minnesota I have to get a cite of his angry behavior. 😛 And if you respond to this, no, the Coleman ad showing Franken angry was shown to be a fraud. People like you that can be fooled that easy by guys like Coleman are good Rush Limbaugh listeners. > [@](#): > > As I commented on this board shortly after the election, I expected that after Obama came into power Rush would rise to new prominence. People who don’t like the direction the country is going in now are angry, of course, just like some of the liberals went insane with rage during the “Bushitler” (as some of the crazier ones termed it) years. Not Hitler, but a mild follower of Stalin in my opinion, Stalin allegedly said that “One death is a tragedy, but a million deaths are a statistic.” similarly IMO Bush poo pooed the Lancet study on the number of Iraqi dead showing 600,000 dead as a result of the invasion and war. When other surveys showed more than a million dead, the idea that they will remain less than a historical footnote to a sociopath like Bush and their enablers makes me puke. [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14501232](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14501232) > [@](#): > > It is fun to be able to vent your anger by hearing someone unapologetically poke fun at people you don’t like. It doesn’t really have much to do with the integrity of either party or reflect the likely outcome of future elections. What ends up happening with the economy now that the Democrats are the ones who can solely take the credit or blame will determine the next election I don’t give a hoot if it is fun or not, I give a hoot when it is not accurate like Rush typically is. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/8 "2009-01-30T07:56:03Z")
Every time there was a Pit thread about something Rush said, there would inevitably be the comment, “he’s just an entertainer! You hysterical liberals actually believe he’s a serious voice of Republican policy?” Well, apparently a hysterical conservative in Congress thinks so. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/9 "2009-01-30T08:03:19Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > Yeah…kind of like Al Franken… Actually Al Franken was just an entertainer, but is now an elected member of the senate, similar to how Ronald Reagan was just an entertainer until he was elected to office. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/10 "2009-01-30T08:09:42Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > Yeah…kind of like Al Franken. I swear, I was so close to considering thinking about maybe someday voting Democratic until YOU GUYS decided to not only listen to such an angry, partisan comedian but actually try to put him in a position of power. He’ll be a better Senator than all but three or four current Republican Senators. And that’s being generous. The Republicans are by and large partisan obstructionists who really enjoyed destroying our country since the Reagan years. Personally I’m happy that Al Franken will be a Senator. It makes up for Hillary not getting elected president and watching the foaming at the mouth. And if the Republicans don’t like how the voters of Minnesota voted, well then too bad. Unrestrained Republican greed let to the Great Depression and it lead to the current meltdown. Let’s hope that Mitch McConnell is right and that the Republican party is now just a regional party and dies the death it so richly deserves. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/11 "2009-01-30T08:29:58Z")
Rush is opposing the current bailout with all his might, and that’s endearing him to his base. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/12 "2009-01-30T09:46:08Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Rush is opposing the current bailout with all his might, and that’s endearing him to his base. Somehow the picture I got was Ann Coulter telling Pinocchio “lie to me!” 😉 The issue here to me is that this kind of endearment in reality is showing weakness for both the representative and Rush. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/13 "2009-01-30T10:55:00Z")
This plays beautifully into President Obama’s resources and skill set. Gingrey and the other bootlickers have extremely conservative districts due to years of gerrymandering. The president’s people know how to isolate these, examine them, target them, and then use them in door-to-door pitches to neighboring districts. In other words, the House seat may be secure, but the Senate seat is in more danger than ever. ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/14 "2009-01-30T11:56:49Z")
I listen to Rush with some regularity (I’m sorry to admit). He is completely full of himself and spends a little bit of time every day reminding his listeners how he is the smartest man in media, etc. I have heard both Rush and O’Reilly tell listeners things like “don’t watch Obama’s speech tomorrow. I’ll watch it for you and tell you what he said afterwards” or “Don’t you worry about that (whatever issue). I’ll fix that problem for all of us.” Weird. He (Rush) was speechless the day after the election. I never heard so much hemming and hawing and dead air. LOL Rush was on the Mark Levin (sp?) radio show (or maybe it was Michael Savage show- I can’t tell the difference between those two by voice for some reason) last night and those two were really having a love-fest. (Side fun- Savage and Levin hate each other. Levin calls Savage’s show 'Weiner nation" because Savage’s real name is Weiner!) Rush was filled with glee this week when Obama mentioned his name. He seemed thrilled to be acknowledged in any way by Obama. Shawn Hannity is so happy to have Obama say his name that he uses the mentions as the introduction to his show. Rush is so out of touch with regular people. He was talking about how people are too stupid to manage the upcoming television conversion and they will wake up one day soon and not be able to see their MTV and freak out. I guess he thinks MTV is available to people who don’t have cable or satellite. I often wonder why Rush doesn’t run for office as he has the answer to every problem we have today. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/15 "2009-01-30T12:06:16Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > This plays beautifully into President Obama’s resources and skill set. Gingrey and the other bootlickers have extremely conservative districts due to years of gerrymandering. The president’s people know how to isolate these, examine them, target them, and then use them in door-to-door pitches to neighboring districts. In other words, the House seat may be secure, but the Senate seat is in more danger than ever. Quite. Take a look at the diagram from [this post at 538](http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/01/republican-death-spiral-in-graphic-form.html). The Republicans are in very tricky territory. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/16 "2009-01-30T12:33:29Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > Yeah…kind of like Al Franken. I swear, I was so close to considering thinking about maybe someday voting Democratic until YOU GUYS decided to not only listen to such an angry, partisan comedian but actually try to put him in a position of power. I would respect Limbaugh more if he ran for some office. If he put really believes himself, put it up for a public test, and try to get into a position where he deserves to affect public policy. He’s in the easy position now - not accountable, and always able to point a finger when things go wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/17 "2009-01-30T12:40:31Z")
The reason that I see is that they _want_ Rush to be their voice. The Bush administration did it’s very best to beat the Republican brand to a bloody death. So much so that a few legislators refused to use the word “republican” in their campaign material. He beat it so bloody [many of them are taking their ball and going home.](http://wizbangpolitics.com/2008/01/30/more-republican-house-members-retiring.php) He basically beat the moderation out of the party. Who are the superstar Republican politicians left in Washington? Boehner? _Gingrey_? The only real big name they have left in public office is Sarah Palin and their only superstars are the blowhards of AM radio. Nuanced politicos like Snowe or commentators like Buckley have been squarely kicked to the curb while the remaining Republicans embrace the Rush strategy of hoping and praying that Obama fails. Good luck with that, guys. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/18 "2009-01-30T12:51:48Z")
Biggirl is spot on. They’re kicking everybody off the bus that’s to the left of Sarah Palin, which seems to me to be a huge mistake. Now they can sing the praises of Rush to their hearts’ content, but now the only ones left in their church is the choir. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/19 "2009-01-30T13:06:43Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > …just like some of the liberals went insane with rage during the “Bushitler” (as some of the crazier ones termed it) years. I must have missed that. Tell me, which radio station is he on, and which Democratic senator called him to apologize? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688/20 "2009-01-30T13:21:38Z")
> [@bup](#): > > I would respect Limbaugh more if he ran for some office. If he put really believes himself, put it up for a public test, and try to get into a position where he deserves to affect public policy. All any opponent would have to do is mention ‘Oxycotin’ a few times. > [@](#): > > He’s in the easy position now - not accountable, and always able to point a finger when things go wrong. Seriously, why does anyone listen to Mr. “Addicts should be in prison - 'scuse me while I snort this”, anymore? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-gop-why-are-some-still-licking-the-boots-of-rush-limbaugh/483688.md?page=2)